Nighthawk girls overcome adversity in semifinal

OAKESDALE - After entering the district playoffs for the 2023-24 basketball season with the number one overall seed, the Oakesdale Nighthawks girls and boys basketball teams both will play for the 1B district championship.

The Nighthawk boys team took down Sunnyside Christian 65-51 on Saturday, Feb. 10, advancing them to the district title game.

Oakesdale dominated Sunnyside Christian from start-to-finish, clinching a state playoff berth no matter how the district championship game goes.

The title game will be played on Friday, Feb. 16, in Dayton. Oakesdale will take on the DeSales Irish. Tip-off is set for 7:45 p.m.

For the girls, they too advanced to the district championship match, however, it did not come easy.

Their semifinal match was played on Friday, Feb. 9, against the Colton Wildcats.

The game was even early, until the Nighthawks star senior guard Samantha Holling went down with an injury.

"During the second quarter, we lost senior Samantha Holling to a season ending knee injury and she was carried off the court by her dad. Samantha was the backbone of our team, loved and respected by her teammates and coaches, and she's irreplaceable. There is no way to put a value on all the intangible qualities she brought to the court and locker room. We can look at the stats and measure contributions like rebounds and points, but we can't measure how fun it was to play with her, what a fierce competitor she was, or her steadiness, consistency, and leadership. Her team, coaches, family, and fans are heartbroken that she will miss the District Championship game, Regional, and State Tournament. Her contributions to Oakesdale Nighthawk basketball ensured that our program carries on and is strong for the Nighthawks who come after her," said Head Coach Heidi Perry.

Perry was quick to state how the team rallied after Holling went down, showing poise, heart, and determination as the Nighthawks took down Colton 44-30.

Payton Davis had a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds. Brieyn Henley also had a double-double. She finished with 10 points and 13 rebounds.

Bradyn Henley had 18 points and three assists and steals for Oakesdale.

For Colton, senior Kyndra Stout was scoring early, she had eight points in the first half. However, the nine-point deficit the Wildcats faced at halftime proved to be too much, and Colton fell by 14.

"Samantha was on the bench with us for the entire second half, and I know her presence gave everyone the strength to secure the win," Perry said.

With the loss, Colton is now in a loser-out match. They played their game on Wednesday, Feb. 14, in Dayton, against Liberty Christian. Look for results and the story of the game on the Whitman County Gazette website Thursday, Feb. 15.

The Nighthawk girls will play for the district championship on Friday, Feb. 16, against Sunnyside Christian. The game will be in Dayton, and tip-off at 6 p.m.

If Colton won their game Wednesday, Feb. 14, they will play Friday, Feb. 16, in Dayton for a winner-to-state, loser-out game against either Yakama Tribal, or the Garfield-Palouse Vikings.